Tarpon city commission candidate forum next week

TARPON SPRINGS — City residents have an opportunity to hear from candidates vying for a seat on the City Commission Tuesday evening at City Hall.

The League of Women Voters of North Pinellas County will hold a public forum 6-8:30 p.m. for the three individuals running for the Commission Seat 2.

The candidates for the March 11 municipal election are Chris Hrabovsky, Joe Muzio and Rea Sieber. They are all running for the seat Commissioner Susan Slattery must vacate because of term limits.

Commissioner Townsend Tarapani’s seat was also up for re-election this year but no one filed to challenge.

Prior to the question-and-answer portion of the forum, attendees will be able to meet and speak with each candidate for about 30 minutes. Guests can also submit for consideration questions to be asked during the forum.

The League of Women Voters of North Pinellas County is in charge of the rules and procedures for the forum. It will provide the moderator and timer for the event, according to a city press release. League members will select the guest-submitted questions that are asked in addition to their own.

This March’s upcoming election pits three familiar, local faces up against one another.

Hrabovsky, who frequently speaks during city and county commission and other public meetings, ran unsuccessfully for a Florida House seat in 2006.

Muzio is a Realtor on his fourth campaign to become a city commissioner. His last attempt came in 2010, when he lost to Commissioner Jeff Larsen.

Sieber, president of the Tarpon Springs Merchants Association, owns Wine at the Docks and Rea Sunshine, both at the Sponge Docks. She hasn’t run for public office before but sits on the Budget Advisory Committee.

More election news

On the same March 11 ballot, residents in Tarpon Springs and throughout Pinellas County will be asked to choose from four candidates seeking to take over the late C.W. Bill Young’s District 13 U.S. House seat.